Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Does everyone already know about this recipe? Well someone told me about it a few years ago and since L had dairy and egg allergies when he was younger this was the perfect cookie recipe for him and perfect for me since it requires no effort. Hello people 3 ingredients! Not only easy but they are really, really good.

1 box spice cake mix
1 can (the size of a soup can) pumpkin puree
chocolate chips

Mix all together and drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins, depending on your oven. I just usually estimate and do the toothpick trick since I have never actually seen a real recipe for this but it is basically a no fail cookie.

The BEST Marinara Sauce

As I am making a double batch right now I just can't help but post this recipe. It's just TOO good not to. It's zesty, which I love.

Marinara Sauce for Pasta (Katie B from Hershey Ward))

½ cup olive oil
1 medium onion
1 small carrot
large handful of fresh parsley or 2-3 Tbsp. dry parsley
3 to 5 cloves of garlic – crushed or finely chopped
1 large can crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried Basil
1 16 oz. tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
3 tsp. capers
1 tsp. sugar
½ cup to ¾ cup of water (used to rinse out tomato sauce cans)
½ to ¾ cup chicken broth

Finely chop onion, carrot, parsley and garlic by hand or in food processor. Sauté chopped ingredients as well as basil and oregano in heated olive oil until somewhat soft. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer very slowly for 1 ½ to 3 hours. Serve over the pasta of your choice with freshly grated (not canned) Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese.
For a change of pace, you may add mushrooms, ground beef, ground Italian sausage, shrimp, etc. I always add lots of ground beef and/or sausage!!

Apple Brownies

We spent a few hours at the apple orchard yesterday so we'll be baking with apples for days and days to come. Here's a recipe I was given at a meal swap. I was hesitant it deserved the name "brownie" until I tried them. We're baking some at this very moment!

Apple Brownies
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 large or 4 small apples, peeled and diced
granulated sugar (for sprinkling on top after baking)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Choose your pan size: either a 9 x 13 pan, two pie pans, or a pie pan and four mini-loaf pans. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and apples. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sugar.

Chicken Salsa Tacos

This is a recipe my cousin recently shared with me. It is SO good and WAY easy. I made it in my crock pot for about 4-5 hours. She suggests flour tortillas but my little family prefers corn tortillas. Mmmm...

6-8 Chicken breasts
Jar of Salsa ( medium sized )
1c. brown sugar

Mix Salsa and brown sugar pour onto chicken breasts and cook. (Either in Crock pot or oven) Shred chicken and serve in soft flour tortillas with regular tacos mixings. (ex. sour cream, lettuce, tomato, olives, re-fried beans, etc.)

Sidewalk Chalk Paint Recipe

Sorry, this isn't a recipe that you would probably want to eat but it will keep the kiddos busy while you cook. So that counts, right? I think that I made this about every single day when we moved to PA and needed to unpack boxes. The Lukester thought it was the greatest thing ever. Easy and cheap and you've got to love that fun cornstarch texture.

In container add 1/4 cup cornstarch, then 1/4 cup water, about 5-10 drops of food coloring. It might be difficult to mix at first, but it will suddenly come together (remember to put cornstarch in container first).

Grab some paintbrushes and enjoy painting before it gets too chilly!

Two Delicious Summer Recipes

I thought I should share these before the end of summer:

Chicken Kebabs with Creamy Pesto (Cooking Light, September 2010)
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pieces of yellow bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
Cherry tomatoes
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Red onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon commercial pesto (I used Classico)

Combine rind, 1 tablespoon juice, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Toss with bell pepper, tomatoes, chicken, and onion. Thread vegetables and chicken onto four 12” skewers. Place skewers on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray (I did not do this, I grilled mine outdoors). Broil 12 minutes or until chicken is done, turning occasionally. Combine 1 teaspoon juice, yogurt, sour cream, and pesto. Serve sauce with kebabs. Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1 kebab and 1 tablespoon sauce).
Calories: 211, fat: 7.3, Protein: 27.9, Carb: 7,

Chicken Dinner Salad (Cooking Light, September 2010)
6 medium beets
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
½ cup plain 2% Greek-style yogurt
14 cup Sriracha (hot chili sauce, such as Huy Fong)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 shallot, minced (I used 1 tablespoon grated onion)
6 ears shucked corn
6 cups packed fresh spinach
4 ounces goat cheese, cut into 6 slices (I used feta)
6 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans

Leave root and 1-inch stem on beets; scrub with a brush. Place beets in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 hour or until tender. Drain. Cool beats slightly. Trim off beet roots and stems; rub off skins. Slice beets.
While beets cook, place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ½” thickness using a small heavy skillet. Combine yogurt and chile sauce in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag and seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Combine 2 tablespoons oil (I omitted), ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
Place chicken on grill rack; grill 6 minutes on each side or until done. Cut chicken into 1” strips.
Brush remaining 1 tablespoon oil over corn and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper and ¼ teaspoon salt. Grill 10 minutes or until lightly charred, turning corn occasionally. Cool. Cut kernals from eats of corn.
Place 1 cup spinach on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with chicken, 1/3 cup beats, 1/3 cup corn, 1 cheese slice and 1 tablespoon pecans. Drizzle 1 tablespoon dressing over each salad.

Big, Soft Ginger Cookies

This recipe doesn't seem seasonably appropriate, however, my family enjoys these all year long...and anything that makes fall feel a little closer is welcome at my house. This recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Makes 2 dozen.

Oatmeal Crispies

I got this recipe from sweet Susan M. It was sort of embarrassing actually because when she put a plate of them in front of us after a dinner at her house we literally could not stop eating them, I downed at least 5 right there on the spot. They taste like a mix between oatmeal cookies and snicker-doodles. The flavor and texture are just delicious.


Cream Together:
1 Cup brown sugar
1 Cup white sugar
1 Cup shortening

Mix in,
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups oatmeal

Bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

This recipe is in my top 3. It is pure deliciousness. It’s so good, you just sit there and savor. SAVOR people. The first time I made this it seemed a bit time consuming, so naturally I was ticked and swore I would never make it again. But once I tasted it, it was worth it – and now it goes pretty fast. It is a Giada recipe care of Danielle. Huge plus: the manicotti freezes well.

- 1/2 pound ground beef (I use turkey)

- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (from one onion)

- 1 (15 oz) container whole-milk ricotta cheese

- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 3 teaspoons olive oil

- 12 pieces of manicotti pasta (from one 8 oz box)

- 1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce (I just use plain canned tomato sauce)

Heat a medium size skillet over medium. Add ground beef and onion and saute until meat browns and onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in the meat mixture and set aside.

Brush 1 teaspoon olive oil over large baking sheet. Bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook manicotti until softened, about 6 minutes. Transfer manicotti to baking sheet and cool.

Preheat oven to 350. Brush remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over 13x9x2 glass baking dish. Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce over bottom of prepared dish. Fill manicotti with cheese-meat mixture. (I put the filling in a ziplock and cut the corner to fill the manicotti.) Arrange filled pastas in a single layer in dish. Spoon remaining cup of sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and then the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese over the manicotti.

Bake uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the bottom of the dish, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

Quick & Easy Tatziki

Plain greek yogurt

cucumber - shredded and squeeze the water out of it, or remove the seeds.

1-2 cloves of garlic

fresh cilantro

lime juice

healthy & so tasty with salads & chicken

Cantaloupe Salad with Lime, Mint & Ginger

4-6 servings

1 cantaloupe, halved, seeded, peeled

3 T. fresh lime juice

3 T. chopped fresh mint

2 t. grated lime peel

2 T. sugar

2 1/2 t. grated peeled fresh ginger

2 t. honey

Cut cantaloupe into 3/4 - 1 inch cubes (or ball them) and place in a large bowl. Add lime juice, mint, lime peel; toss to blend. Mix in sugar, ginger, and honey. Refrigerate until ready to serve, stirring occasionally, up to 3 hours.

Marinated Mushrooms with Blue Cheese

12 servings

1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 cup vegetable oil (I always use canola oil)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 coup white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
hot sauce to taste (I use Frank's)
2 cups fresh mushrooms, stems removed

In a medium bowl, mix together the blue cheese, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, seasoning salt, sugar, dry mustard and hot sauce. Stir in the mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours before serving.

CoCa Cola Frosting

This frosting is amazing. I love it on chocolate cake (see prior post) or brownies. It really jazzes up a box brownie mix. Its like pourable fudge with a Coca Cola kick. So tasty!

- 1/2 Cup butter

- 6 Tablespoons Coca Cola

- 2 Tablespoons CoCoa

- 3 1/2 Cups powdered sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter. Add coke and cocoa and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and mix into powdered sugar. Add vanilla, mix until smooth and creamy.

Nutella pizza

Yes, I do love pizza. We tried Nutella pizza in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and today is the first time I've tried doing it myself. It was FANTASTIC

I used my usual pizza dough recipe

then I used Nutella - white and semi-sweet chocolate chips and bananas. I think it would have been just as good just with the Nutella

Brush the dough with butter, then bake until the crust is crisp and pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately spread the Nutella over the pizza then sprinkle all the chocolate chips and banana over.

Bake just until the chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the pizza. Cut into wedges and ENJOY

Guacamole

Bring on the quac! This recipe is from the Cummings clan in Virginia, care of Marie. A yummy addition to a Mexican feast, or fantastic with chips at a summer BBQ. It is a favorite! Thanks Marie!

- 2 Avocados

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- 1 clove minced garlic

- 1 Tablespoon cilantro

- 1/4 cup chopped tomato

- 2 Tablespoons chopped onion (optional)

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

TO DIE FOR Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Listen party people. This is my all time favorite dessert (and I only discovered it a year ago after moving to Hershey, PA). I can not begin to describe the deliciousness of this cake. For all of you that have had chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting at the Hershey Pantry - you know what I am talking about. And you know life will never be the same. For those who haven't - stop what you are doing and make this cake! I don't know who came up with such a brilliant combo - maybe it was someone here who was smelling Reese's in the air. But we gotta get the word out. Here we go.....

Chocolate Cake

• 2 C sugar
• 3/4 C oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C cocoa
• 1 1/2 C boiling water
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 C flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together sugar, oil, and eggs.

Add cocoa, baking soda and powder, and water. Mix until combined.

Add flour and vanilla.

Place in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. (I baked in two 9 inch round pans for 25 minutes.)

Peanut Butter Icing

• 1 1/2 C crisco
• 3/4 C peanut butter
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 1/4 C + 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 lb. powdered sugar

In a mixer, cream together crisco, peanut butter and butter.

Add vanilla. Beat until smooth.

With the mixer at low speed, carefully add milk and powdered sugar.

When sugar is fully incorporated, beat icing on high speed, until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 C chocolate chips
• 1/4 C heavy whipping cream

In a saucepan, stir chocolate chips and cream together over medium heat until smooth.

Pour over top of a frosted cake and spread so that ganache drips evenly over all edges of the cake. Let cool until firm.

Pizza pizza pizza

I love pizza so here comes the recipe to my pizza crust - very simple

1 cup milk (you can also use water)

1 tbsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

3 cups Wheat (if I'm feeling extra healthy I mix it with whole wheat)

1 tbsp olive oil

salt

If you can let the dough rise for approx. 1 hour

I've recently discovered Giada for Target - she makes great tomato and basil pasta sauce which I love to use as pizza sauce and the huge jar is only $2.99

Then top the pizza with all your favorites or whatever you have in the fridge.

Personal favorite pesto chicken, peppers, tomato, zucchini, red onions, mushrooms, basil, oregano and mozzarella.

If you have a pizza stone or a plate you can put on the grill that's the best - grill it for 5-7 minutes - just be careful the crust burns easily.

Coconut Cake

This is another amazing recipe from Jana F. Thanks Jana for reminding us that one should always look for occasions to eat cake! It brings back such good memories of the perfect picnic on the perfect PA afternoon!

Coconut cake

4 eggwhites

200 grams sugar

mixed very well - (until it's smooth)

200 grams coconut

baked for approx 50 minutes on 350 farenheit

chocolate cream topping

4 eggyolks (that's the red right!!)

60 grams confectonaries sugar

mixed together until smooth and light

50 grams margarine

50 grams semisweet chocolate

melted together and then mixed with the yolk&conf.sugar blend

put it over the cake while the mix is still warm

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sauce:
1/4 C. chicken broth
4 Tbs ketchup
3/4 C. sugar
1/2 C. vinegar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt

3-4 eggs, mixed in a bowl
garlic salt
corn starch
oil

3 chicken breasts

Cut chicken into pieces. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Roll in cornstarch, dip in eggs. Heat oil in pan until hot. Brown chicken in pan until light brown. Place in a casserole dish.
Heat sauce in a small saucepan until sugar melts, don't boil. Pour over chicken.
Bake at 375 for 30 mins. Stir once after 15 mins. to coat all sides of chicken. Serves 4-5 people.

From my friend Natalie E.

Honey Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

1-4 pork tenderloins

4 cloves garlic chopped
1 Tbs. chopped, fresh rosemary
1/2 C. balsamic vinegar
3-4 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients for the glaze.
Set aside a small amount of glaze in a bowl for later.
Brown pork on all sides in a saute pan for about 5 mins.
Place pork in a 9x13 pan and pour sauce on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 mins.
Brush reserved glaze on top or serve on the side.
Slice pork and serve with garlic mashed potatoes (and enjoy that nice breath later on).

Recipe from my sis Amy.

Homemade Oreos

An oldie but a goody, and the worst picture ever.

1 package of devil's food cake mix

2 eggs

3/4 cup of shortening

blend all together at once.

roll soft dough in small balls on a cookie sheet (don't press down). Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes (don't over bake)

frosting for the middle:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 stick of butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 to 4 c. powdered sugar

mix until smooth. when cookies are cool frost backs of cookies and make sandwich with another cookie.

Did anyone else make these all the time in high school or was it just me and did you ever think to call them Whoopie Pies before moving to these parts?

Time to start getting out the summer recipes!

Steak and Chicken shish kabobs

Steak and/ or chicken cut into chunks
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
1 can Sprite

(any veges or fruit that you would like on the kabobs)
red onion
green/red pepper cut into chunks
pineapple chunks
mushrooms
cherry tomatoes
sliced zucchini

Marinade-
Mix soy sauce, oil and Sprite in a bowl. Put chicken and steak in and let sit in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.

Soak kabob sticks in water for at least 20 mins. in water to prevent them from burning on the grill. Alternate chicken, steak, veggies and pineapple. Anything goes! Serve with jasmine rice and slivered almonds.

Recipe from my friend Jenny.

Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:
* In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner’s sugar* Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.* Press mixture into bottom of pan.* Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:* While crust is baking, prepare topping.* In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.* Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.* Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.* Bake for 20-25 minutes.* When cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate.* Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

Spinach & Couscous Salad

This recipe is from Jana Fridfinnsdottir. Such a great combination of fresh ingredients for a salad. Soooo yummy! Thanks Jana!

I marinaded the chicken in pad - thai sauce this time but I just use whatever I have (last time I did Tikka Masala paste and plain yogurt & used turkey cutlets instead of chicken that was really good)

Fresh spinach

red onion

sweet peppers (I prefer red & orange but you can use any color)

mushrooms

strawberries

grapes

cucumber

tomato

cashew nuts

couscous

Feta cheese

chicken

and ranch dressing

So put the spinach in first then the veggies & fruit & nuts

then you put the couscous on top of it and the meat and the feta cheese on top of everything.

Originally the salad was just spinach red onions, feta cheese, couscous & chicken but I prefer to have more fresh stuff in it.

Chicken Breast Supreme

• 4 lb chicken breasts
• 2 cans cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. savory seasoning
• Rice

- Cover chicken breasts with water and add savory seasoning. Boil until done. Place in 9x13 inch baking dish.

- Mix soup, mayonnaise, whipping cream, and Worcestershire sauce.

- Pour mixture over chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, uncovered.

- Serve over rice.

This is another easy breezy recipe from Darin's mom. Very tasty! I often don't have all the ingredients, and its still really good with various substitutes. (cream of chicken instead of cream of celery) (milk instead of whipping cream) (low fat mayo instead of the real deal). Also, I sometimes bake it with the rice on the bottom.